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National Champions!
Huskers' 13-0 Season Earns First Place In Coaches Poll; Michigan Wins AP Vote
January 03, 1998
The Nebraska Cornhuskers earned their third National Championship in four years as the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll tabbed the Huskers as the number one team in the final poll. The Cornhuskers finished with 32 first place votes, a mere two votes more than the Michigan Wolverines. Nebraska coach Tom Osborne understands how the process may have worked for the coaches. "Being a coach, I know a little bit of how they think. I think they probably looked at the fact that going 13 and 0 and going unrewarded in some way would be..I don't know if you would say 'an injustice'..but wouldn't be a good thing."Florida State, North Carolina and UCLA capped the rest of the Top 5 in the coaches' poll. Tennessee finished the season ranked seventh in the coaches poll and fellow Husker victim Kansas State finished eighth. Three other 1997 Husker opponents finished the season ranked. Washington was rated 18th, Texas A&M finished at number 20 and Missouri was ranked 23rd. Nebraska won their first National Championship back in 1971 and followed that up a year later with the 1972 title. They repeated the back-to-back feat in 1994 and 1995.The Associated Press writers poll kept the status quo by annointing the Michigan Wolverines as their National Champs. The Wolverines gained 51.5 out of a possible 70 first place votes and 1,731½ points , the Huskers came in second place with 18.5 first place votes and 1,698½ points. Florida State, Florida and UCLA wrapped up the AP Top 5. The Huskers 42-17 win over Tennessee in the Orange Bowl was enough to sway 17½ first place votes away from Michigan's last week tally. Five voters split their ballots. The split poll is the third such event in the 1990's. Colorado and Georgia Tech split the polls in 1990. In the following year Washington earned the coaches' poll while Miami was selected by the writers.  |
